Virtual Operating system?

[Nerwin]

Well i was not quite sure where to put this because this is a odd question...

1. I want to run a Virtual OS on another computer and remote connect to it from my computer, is that possible?

2. The computer that VMware will run on is a Family computer, Theres more than one account on that computer, but I need VMware to run all the time, Is that possible?

If you need more information, Please Tell me so i can give you the right information.

[amocanu]

i think that fast user switching will help, this feature of windows xp allows more users to be loged in at the same time

just select "switch user" from the "Log Off Windows" dialog box and select another user name from the login screen

this way you can run vmware under one account and using this feature other people can login and use their accounts as usual.

Edited January 5, 2007 by amocanu

[Nerwin]

Yeah. I already know that, I just wondering if theres another way.. I can't think of one..

[LLXX]

VNC.

[CoffeeFiend]

VNC.

I fail to see the relevance of VNC here, it's a remote control app and nothing more... Perhaps you thought of something special, but if that's the case then you're extremely short on details to say the least. His problem isn't with finding an app to remotely control other PCs/OS'es but a virtualization setup.

As for the original post:

1. It's not a virtual OS. An OS is an OS, it's not virtual. Only the host (computer) is virtual. Is it possible? Absolutely - I do it everyday.

2. We'll assume you don't want to connect to windows - or not the instance that's running on the bare metal (real hardware) at least, since you're looking for other ways than what computerMan mentioned.

VMWare running all the time? Easy: don't use VMWare Workstation! Use VMWare Server instead, which will start as a service and in turn start the virtual machines you've configured to auto-start when it boots. It's a better virtualization product IMO (depends on your use for virtualization products I guess), and it's 200$ cheaper (it's free!)

Then you connect to your (already running) guest OS'es (running on the virtual hardware inside VMWare) the way you normally would (MSTSC, VNC, Citrix, FreeNX, SSH or whatever you want/need/like and depending of the OS). You must setup the network properly first (e.g. use NAT and forward the required ports, or use spare/dedicated NICs for the guest OS'es)

The only real advice I have is:

1) Read the VMWare networking documentation/tutorials (see how to configure it i.e. editing config files), and find out what ports you need to control remotely

2) Buy more RAM! You will need LOTS of it if you want decent performance.

[m_arth]

Hello,

or you can give a try to vmware workstation 6 (http://www.vmware.com/wsbeta/).

Because you can run a virtual os in the background and you can use vnc to connect to a virtual os directly.

Best regards

Mathieu

[CoffeeFiend]

or you can give a try to vmware workstation 6 (http://www.vmware.com/wsbeta/).

Because you can run a virtual os in the background and you can use vnc to connect to a virtual os directly.

But it'll cost 200$ for no reason, and since it doesn't start as a service (unless they've changed something in v6), so every time someone logs in (he said it's a family PC with many user accounts) they would have to restart the virtual machines manually, and stopping them when they're done (not running when logged off), which would be extremely inconvenient if you plan on using the other OS instance for anything at all (always getting kicked off by people logging on and off). And that's assuming all users have access (NTFS permissions and all) to do it, and remember to do it too. And the constant start/stop of the app and VMs wastes a lot of time, quite annoying for everyone logging in to wait a few minutes before they can do anything.

This is the type of situation VMWare Server is meant for (workstation just doesn't work so well here) - VMs running without interruption (often for server processes -- and when you think of it, what he's asking for is somewhat like a "mini terminal server" really), without the need for a user to manually start them. VMWare Workstation works better for testing stuff, single users working with their own VMs while they're logged on (like for using apps that require another OS) and such things. Besides, even if both apps worked equally well (it's not the case, but anyways), I see no real justification to replace a free app with one that cost 200$ without any real benefits. Even VPC (v2007 betas are available too) and Virtual Server are both free now, and there are other cheap alternatives like Parallels Workstation (75% cheaper than VMWare Workstation). I see no reason to shell out 200$ unless one needs specific features it has to offer.

[cluberti]

VMWare server 1.0.1 is free, as is Microsoft Virtual server 2005 R2. Both allow VMs to run without the application interface running, and both allow VMs to connect directly to the external network that the machine hosting the VMs is connected to. If you're running Windows 2000, XP, 2003, or Vista in the VM, you can RDP to it like any "real" machine if you've enabled such functionality. If you're running a Linux OS, you can install an SSH daemon or VNC daemon and connect to it via those methods as well.

Again, from your questions, it sounds like you should consider VMWare Server or Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 - both will allow a virtual machine to connect to the physical network directly, and thus be directly accessed remotely just like they were a "real" machine on the network, regardless of who is logged on (or if there is no one logged on at all, for that matter).

I forward Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 first, but only because I am partial to it:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversyst...er/default.mspx

VMWare server is another good choice for this scenario:

http://www.vmware.com/products/server/